The Mistakes of Others
by bluetinkerMantis
Summary: Shinobu's school life is different from her Hinata life...radically different. She has wit, charm, and a very obvious lack of blush. But that soon changes, especially when a love interest throws her quiet and unassuming personality into disarray.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not ours, except for the OC's!

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_**The Mistakes of Others**_

The alarm buzzed on and Shinobu opened her eyes immediately. She allowed her brain a few moments to orient itself before she clicked off the alarm clock and sat up. The clock read '5:00 a.m.' A small smile lightly touched her lips. Today marked the first day of her last year in high school. Shinobu shook off her silly smile and neatly arranged her futon, rolling it away.

"_What type of person am I that I enjoy going to school…",_ she thought vaguely. But that didn't matter. She needed to shower and then make breakfast and pack lunches for the rest of the crew. Shinobu tapped her head in remonstrance at what she thought was her uncanny ability to waste time and then quietly slipped out of her room, making her way to the hot spring.

About twenty minutes later, Shinobu bustled into the kitchen, still careful about the amount of noise she made. Soon the older occupants of the house would start filtering down _(except for Kitsune, the thought making her giggle silently)_, all asking for breakfast. Shinobu began to cook up her usual fare for breakfast: miso soup, rice topped with a seaweed garnish, some grilled fish, and green tea. The work became mechanic once again: chopping the seaweed, flipping the fish strips, stirring the miso, checking the rice, adding the tea leaves. At the same time, Shinobu prepared and packed everyone's lunches. Towards the end, Shinobu checked her watch. Keitaro and Naru should be up anytime now…and they were up, Shinobu realized ruefully, as she heard the distinct sound of Naru's fist meeting Keitaro's cheek. Motoko had already woken up before…Now it was just Suu and Kitsune.

Shinobu set down the food and plates on the table. She then made her way upstairs and tried to wake up Suu, who groaned and nestled herself further into her sheets. Shinobu bit her lip. She didn't want to be mean and wake up Suu…but she had to because Suu had to go to school.

Suu had, a few years back, taken a tour of the world because Molmol had an extreme budget surplus. With the consent of the people, they sent their second princess off to experience the multicultural education that you could only get from visiting other countries. As a result of that expedition, Suu was pulled down to a lower grade, one lower that Shinobu. However, she didn't mind and she still did very well.

"Suu, get up! You have school today!" Shinobu urgently whispered.

"No. Suu wants to stay home," Suu grumbled.

"Fine then. No breakfast for you." Suu was out of bed before Shinobu could blink. Worked every time.

On the way back down, Shinobu saw Keitaro and a blush rose to tint her cheeks. "_Why, Kami, why?"_ Her mind screamed at her. It's not like she still _liked_ him!

"Hello Shinobu! It's a nice morning today, isn't it?" He usually just smiled at her in greeting…Shinobu watched him carefully, a nervous smile pointed at him.

"Yes, it is." A silence followed. "Umm…I'll go now. Suu and I have to eat and then go to school."

"Do well and have fun! Remember, these are the best times of your life!"

Shinobu walked away, inwardly cringing. Looked like Naru had hit him a tad bit harder this morning.

Once Shinobu came downstairs, she found Suu gobbling up the last of her breakfast. Shinobu quickly ate a bowl of rice and downed a bit of green tea. Soon, the two were off to school.

And so went Shinobu's morning routine.

* * *

Upon reaching the school, Shinobu and Suu separated but only after Shinobu made Suu swear on Tama-chan that Suu would meet Shinobu at the gates 30 minutes after school ended.

"Shinobu!" The said girl turned to find one of her friends running up to her.

"Hey Yumi! How was your break?" Yumi rolled her eyes dramatically and linked arms with Shinobu, dragging her to a nearby tree, where "the group" usually met.

"You won't believe what happened! I was going to vacation to Thailand with my family, right, and then I saw HIM! He looked more gorgeous in person than he does on television! I mean, his body, and hair and everything! It's just so perfect! I even took a picture with him! And _he put his arm around me_!" Yumi squealed and looked to the bewildered Shinobu as if expecting the same reaction from her.

"Saw who?" Shinobu asked. Yumi tugged at her arm a little harshly.

"_Takashi Ukito!_ You know, tall, handsome, deadly hot personality--"

"Please Yumi. You don't have to speak of me like that. I know I'm irresistible but really, drooling girls just aren't my thing." Shinobu and Yumi both turned to see a tall, lean boy making his way towards them. His cocky grin would usually make girls swoon but Yumi threw her notebook at him and Shinobu hid her giggle with her hand.

"Not you, Kyo! I'm talking about--" Yumi continued to babble on, as the rest of their friends filtered in. The girls, Chie and Jun, were split on Yumi's reaction to meeting the television soap star, with Chie going nuts and Jun not really caring. The boys, meanwhile, consisting of Kyo, Isao and Michimo, started their own conversation about their last year of school.

The bell soon rang, signaling the departure to the students' homerooms. The group was about to split when it was stopped by Chie's voice flinging an insult in an altogether different direction, one to their left. All the heads turned to see a gaggle of boys following a pack of girls, all goosing after one female in general.

"Kami, I hate that slimy wench," Chie muttered darkly.

Seven pairs of eyes followed the willowy figure enter the building with a haughty flip of her mane.

"Ten yen she's in my homeroom," Jun said flatly.

"Twenty," Shinobu teased, wrinkling her nose for effect. The troupe moved on, soon splitting. Shinobu traveled to her homeroom, followed by Kyo, Chie, and Yumi. The four sat in a square, with Kyo in front of Shinobu, who sat next to Yumi and diagonally from Chie. Shinobu looked out the window to see a few stragglers running desperately into the building. Sadly, she noted carefully, one of those stragglers who didn't seem to care was Suu.

"_Oh dear,"_ Shinobu clucked disapprovingly. "_I'm going to have to talk to Suu about that."_

A hand waved in front of her face. Shinobu snapped to attention.

"Hellllooooo! Shinnnnooobbbuuuu!" Kyo continued waving his hand in front of her face, which was made easier since he was seated backwards in his desk. Shinobu swatted at him unsuccessfully.

"Kyo, you can stop now!" Shinobu said, slightly annoyed.

"What? Don't like the attention?" He teased. Shinobu rolled her eyes and leaned forward.

"I just don't like you," Playfully, Shinobu pushed Kyo, smiling at him. But then, as if a bugle had sounded, the door of the classroom opened to reveal the haughty girl from before, only with less of her friends. She walked into the class and seated herself not to far from Shinobu's group.

Chie and Yumi groaned and hung their heads. Ume lanced a look in their direction, smiled at the charming Kyo, and then began to apply her make-up…again.

"There's nothing wrong with her make-up. It already looks like she just put it on," Shinobu mumbled.

"She's just trying to win my affections," Kyo said, smiling roguishly back in Ume's direction.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kyo. Everyone knows that Ume only has eyes for Toshio," Yumi whispered to him. Kyo frowned, looking down at Shinobu's desk.

"I wonder what she sees in him," He said. "I'm better than him in looks (my rippling physique), personality (my sparkling humor), sports (my amazing--)"

"Shut up, Kyo! You're bragging again! You're so full of yourself!" Chie shook her head at him disgustedly.

"You guys, calm down. We just need to wait a few more minutes and then we can all head off to our first classes," Shinobu said, ushering the flaring tempers back down to a normal level. There was a silence for a few minutes before Kyo spoke up again.

"You forgot your lunch again," Kyo stated simply, looking at Shinobu.

"Wha--?" Shinobu stared at him blankly before checking herself. She _had _forgotten her lunch. In fact, she'd forgotten to make herself one.

"Shinobu, you always forget to make yourself a lunch!" Chie admonished her. Yumi just shook her head.

"Sorry! I just forgot!"

Kyo snorted. "Don't be sorry about this. You're pretty busy at your place in the morning."

Shinobu frowned, "I'm not busy. I just do stupid things all the time, like forgetting to make my lunch. Sor--"

Kyo shot her a skeptical look, cutting off her apology. "You're not stupid. And plus, they give lunches to us," he said shortly.

The teacher walked in and Kyo reversed his position. Once schedules were handed out, the bell rang. The group broke apart, heading to their classes.

Shinobu's first half of the day breezed by, as teachers lectured her and her fellow students on how they should all be preparing for their examinations for university, but only if they wished to attend it. Shinobu paid attention to every lecture, no matter how similar it was to the last. Just as her calculus teacher ended his litany on the syllabus, the bell rang, signaling the break for lunch.

She made her way to the table where all her friends had already congregated after she picked up her meal. Yumi and the gang were already babbling away at what their teachers had told them.

"He told us that the exam for Todai is SO hard that most people have to take it more than once! I don't think I want to do that! But my parents--" As usual, Shinobu tuned out Yumi and thought back to the hardships faced by Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi. She'd have them to help her out, wouldn't she?

But there was so much going on at home that she sincerely doubted whether or not any of them would have time for her. Keitaro and Naru still were confused about the status of their relationship, even after all that they'd been through. Their fights often caused the household to blow up.

"I'm gonna get help at cram school," Isao said, using his chopsticks to sort through his pickled vegetables. The others nodded in agreement. They'd all been in cram school for most of their education, Shinobu remembered. But she'd never had the opportunity.

"What about you, Shinobu? Still not going to cram school?" Jun asked.

"Still not enough money!" Shinobu replied jokingly. The others started laughing lightly and then uneasily returned to their meals. Shinobu's financial problems had never been a fun topic.

"Well, I'm sure Shinobu doesn't need it," Michimo smiled warmly at her. "She is the smartest kid at the school." A warmth tickled Shinobu's cheeks and she looked down at her fish, slowly bringing a piece to her mouth but then stopping.

"I'm not the smartest person," she said.

"You're right," Kyo said. "I'm the smartest." There was a short silence in the group before Isao started snickering.

"You're really stupid, Kyo."

"No I'm not! I'm smarter than you!"

"You're smarter than anyone who says they're smart!" Isao countered. Shinobu sensed another confrontation.

"Okay guys, let's eat and go! We only have thirty minutes for lunch!"

"Right," Kyo said. "Only thirty minutes." Kyo went back to his meal, shoveling the food into his mouth. Shinobu nudged Kyo with her elbow. He looked at her questioningly. She nudged her head in Isao's direction. Kyo sighed and looked away, shaking his head. Shinobu lightly touched his arm with her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Isao. I was being a bum," Kyo grumbled into his rice.

"No problem Kyo."

Shinobu smiled back down into her rice, not noticing the look that her three best friends (female) passed between themselves. All the girls in this little group got along reasonably well with Kyo despite his over-frequent bouts of flamboyant arrogance, but only Shinobu ever really gave him that sort of reprimand. Her patient efforts to slow Kyo's mouth down to at least the pace of his brain had not been going unnoticed by her female friends, but for now, they did not consider the thoughts that these incidents brought to their minds interesting enough to comment on. For now.

The lunch continued in silence, until Jun finished and spoke up, absently tracing circles with her finger on her books.

"We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?"

Everyone looked at her, some blinking at her in surprise, others in thought.

"Well, yeah. We've all known each other for four to five years now. Some of us even longer," Michimo stated.

Shinobu nodded with the others. She'd known Yumi the longest, followed by Kyo, Chie, and then the others. She'd been the last addition to this group.

Jun spoke up again, though this time with more hesitance. "Do you think…ahh… Are we all going to still be friends after this year?"

The drove looked at her, stunned into silence. Without giving them a chance to answer, the bell rang. The group stayed, trying to wrap their minds around the question. Finally, someone spoke.

"Well, I'll do my best to keep in touch with all of you," said Chie. That's all she could manage before looking away and taking a deep breath. Shinobu felt tears prick her eyes. Whenever she saw someone cry, she had to cry.

Kyo let a smirk cross his lips. "I'll do better." They knew he meant it in a kind way, compared to his usual boasts of excellence. This boast was only meant to lighten the mood. Kyo looked around triumphantly as the others smiled and began to stand up. He followed Shinobu, soon next to her and matching her gait.

"Are you crying?" He asked nonchalantly.

"No!" But then again, Shinobu thought, I'm a horrible liar.

"You're a horrible liar," He muttered, looking down at her.

"You're probably more horrible," she teased, copying his signature attempt to be better. He rolled his eyes and left her to go to his classroom. Shinobu walked into hers and sat, a huge smile crossing her features. Her friends and Hinata family were her life.

* * *

The school day ended without anything spectacular, though Shinobu was slightly put-out that Ume was in her last class. But, she decided, not everything was perfect.

Ume had always been a source of contention with the group. Not only did she have everything she wanted but she emitted this...this sense of _knowing_ it. You could call it haughty, for an easy way out. But she wasn't a high-and-mighty type. Ume was, as Shinobu liked to think, faking her happiness. She'd left their group earlier on in high school, a few months after Shinobu entered. No one knew the exact reason why. But she'd been one of core friends of the group, one of the ones that had started it off.

Chie, Jun, and Yumi especially disliked Ume and Shinobu could only put it down to jealousy. The boys, Shinobu thought as she closed upon the meeting spot, were a different story. None of them held qualms over Ume leaving or being who she was. The enmity that the girls felt, Shinobu thought, just had to do with being female. She too was jealous of perfect Ume. That girl had good looks, good grades, and boys flocking after her. Shinobu noted bitterly (not that she'd ever let anyone know) that she didn't have two of the three.

Shinobu waited near the tree that she had met her friends under in the morning. They would all chat for about thirty minutes before heading home. A few acquaintances congratulated her belatedly on her excellent job on last year's final exams and Shinobu received the comments graciously. The people left, and Shinobu could make out a few of her friends making their way to her.

A few minutes after they all assembled, Shinobu couldn't help but let a frown mar her features. Seemed like all of them were in for intensive cram school days whenever their schedules called for it. This day was one of the few when all of them had to go.

Shinobu sighed as they all left her, waving goodbye. She began trudging towards the entrance of the school, where she would wait for Suu. Checking her watch, Shinobu noted carefully that there was about a fifteen minute wait that she would have to endure for Suu. Not bad, right?

That's what she thought before she saw Ume walking towards her.

* * *

AN: Yay! First chapter done! Lots of original characters, yes, but we never see Shinobu at school. So we wondered what it would be like. Please read and review! Reviews offer us advice that we would otherwise never recieve. Constructive criticism is MOST appreciated! 


	2. Chapter 2

Shinobu hadn't had much time to get to know Ume before Ume left their group of friends, and had had virtually no direct contact with her since then either. In the short time they were associated, Ume's total lack of appreciation for how good she had it – which left her spoiled rotten and tended to lead to child-like pouting and even the occasional tantrum whenever any part of the group's activities didn't go exactly her way – had quickly put Shinobu off to her. Later, long after Ume had left the group, Shinobu developed a bit of sympathy for her, but still had no particular desire to be around her.

Ume was talking on her cell phone as she walked. Shinobu was leaning casually against the wall out of Ume's path as she watched her, and for a moment she thought that Ume might not even notice her there. But when Ume had closed to about 20 paces, their eyes met.

Ume never let up on her phone conversation, and as she seemed to be sharing gripes with whoever she was talking to, her face contorted into several scowls as she spoke. But she didn't break eye contact with Shinobu until she was about to walk past her, when with a loud sigh, she rolled her eyes and sharply turned her head back in the direction she was walking, and fed her next miscellaneous complaint to her friend on the phone.

Shinobu really couldn't tell if Ume's last gestures as she walked by were directed at her or if they were meant for the person on the other end of the cell phone, but then she didn't care too much either. While she didn't quite want to say that she held Ume in contempt, she certainly didn't have much respect for her, and would not lose any sleep if Ume were to blow her off like that. Shinobu shrugged the incident off resumed her people-watching. Suu was not long in coming.

* * *

All in all Shinobu felt she had had a good first day back at school, but nevertheless she was feeling a bit drained by the time she and Suu made it back to Hinata-sou. Kaolla had the remarkable ability to use any occasion whatsoever as an excuse to be even more energetic than usual, and her lack of enthusiasm for getting out of bed that morning notwithstanding, by the time she had come bounding out of the front doors of the high school to meet Shinobu with a flying glomp the more tired of the two girls found herself unable to believe that her friend had made it through the day without being kicked out of class. Shinobu had long since learned to use Suu's endless energy as a picker-upper, but every once in a while she still found herself wishing that the little inventor would 'invent' a big, fat Pause button and implant it into her forehead. Although Suu very near wore her out on the way home, Shinobu was still glad for her company.

* * *

Keitaro and Naru, regardless of whether either of the two wished it to be so at any given time, still tended to wind up as the center of attention around Hinata-sou. That fact combined with everyone's knowledge that Shinobu didn't like being made a spectacle of had spared her the pestering questions about the 'first day of school' for the past several years. Thus, upon her and Suu returning home, apart from the usual greetings whenever the residents passed one another, Shinobu was not subjected to any special treatment. After a short respite in the hot springs, Shinobu set right upon her homework, which in turn allowed her to finish in time to enjoy a leisurely conversation with Keitaro and Haruka before starting dinner. Keitaro and Naru managed to avoid conflict all evening, and it was much to Shinobu's regret that she turned down an invitation for a stargazing session in the hot springs on the grounds that she needed her sleep for the next day.

* * *

Suu was far less reluctant to go to school on the second day, and so Shinobu's hope to arrive at school early in time to meet up with her friends before class was realized. A large fountain was the centerpiece of the school's courtyard, and was the second meeting place for Shinobu's friends should their favorite tree already be too crowded. Everyone except Kyo was already there as Shinobu joined them.

"'Morning, Shinobu," acknowledged Yumi, speaking for everyone as they just nodded to Shinobu.

"To you all as well," replied Shinobu with a friendly smile. Looking around, she quickly noticed the one missing face. "Umm ... where's Kyo?"

This time it was Chie who answered. "Oh, I'm sure he's still standing in front of his bathroom mirror primping up something fierce," she said with a sigh. Turning then to Isao, who happened to be the nearest boy to her, Chie finished her thought. "None of you guys developed a prima donna complex. What exactly happened to our dear friend Kyo?"

Isao chuckled a little. "Beats me. But we love him anyway."

Michimo now came to Kyo's defense. "I wouldn't give Kyo too hard a time for his grooming habits, Chie. You're not exactly Miss Zero-Maintenance yourself, you know!"

Chie put a fake expression of indignance on her face. "Surely you do not imply that I primp like Kyo does?"

A genuine evil grin crossed Michimo's face. "Certainly not. At least when Kyo does it, it makes a difference!"

"Why you little ..."

Chie playfully swung her handbag at Michimo, though Michimo dodged her successfully. As the two of them sparred for a moment, Shinobu leaned forward towards them slightly to speak.

"Yeah, Chie. At least we've never been late for a movie because of Kyo."

Chie didn't take her eyes off of Michimo as she responded. "And I suppose you would have gone out in public without covering up a nice little line of pimples that magically appeared on your face between school and late evening?"

Shinobu chuckled. "That would depend a lot on the movie I was supposed to be seeing, I guess. But then, if there weAAAGGGPPHTTHTHT!"

"Surprise!"

With all eyes on Michimo and Chie, no one had seen Kyo creeping up behind them. Taking full advantage of the distraction, Kyo had snuck up to right behind Shinobu, then grabbed her waist just above her hips and lifted her off the ground a little as he shouted.

Her total surprise, matched immediately with the sensation of being lifted off the ground, meant that the remainder of Shinobu's sentence came out as a very awkward squeal. Kyo quickly dropped Shinobu and then tried to tower over her with his arms raised high in the classic 'Boo!' gesture.

Shinobu had been in a very good mood this morning, so in thinking about it later that night it would surprise her how quickly her heart-stopping terror transformed into irritation and then to genuine anger. The instant she felt her feet back on solid ground, even before her heart had slid down her throat back into her chest, she angrily turned on her tormentor and gave him a very firm shove.

Brute strength had never been Shinobu's forté, and Kyo was certainly a mightier person than she. However, as he was on his toes and leaning forward over Shinobu, and he was nearly a full head and shoulders taller than her anyway, his center of gravity was much higher than hers. Shinobu also reflexively crouched a little after Kyo dropped her, lowering her center of gravity even more. All things considered, Shinobu's shove was more than enough to completely unbalance Kyo, and with his back to the fountain, he tripped backwards over the fountain ledge and fell flat on his back into the water.

Nearby groups of students close enough to see what had happened had laughed out loud at Shinobu's fright, but the laughter turned into uproarious hoots and cheers as the tables turned on the would-be prankster.

Yumi and Shinobu were the closest to the fountain at that moment, and both quickly turned to face Kyo fully. Shinobu's expression was fast melting from one of anger to one of apology, but Yumi was very much sharing in the amusement of the onlookers.

"Woah ho ho! Who's surprised _now_ big guy, huh? Ha ha ha ha!"

Kyo's mouth hung open with an expression of absolute shock. He looked at Yumi for a second without responding, and then looked at Shinobu.

"Dammit Shinobu, this is my only clean uniform! They're gonna send me home now!"

Once again Yumi spoke before Shinobu could. "Hey, she let you off lightly, Kyo. You ever do that to me and you'll be wearing an imprint of my shoe between your legs for a week!"

Also once again, Kyo offered no response to Yumi's words, but just stared disbelievingly at Shinobu. After another few tense moments of silence, Kyo seemed to become aware that his predicament was also the source of amusement for a good two dozen other students who had seem it all happen, and an embarrassed blush began to spread across his face.

Shinobu was fast regretting her action and was searching for something apologetic to say, but Kyo's endurance for being the butt of the joke was too short. With a huff he hauled himself out of the water in the opposite direction of Shinobu and the others and stormed off, dozens of snickering faces watching him until he exited the courtyard.

* * *

As Shinobu, Chie and Yumi trodded into their homeroom, Yumi and Chie were still chatting merrily between themselves, but Shinobu just plunked down in her seat, and after taking a quick look at Kyo's conspicuously empty chair, slumped down over the desk portion of her chair.

Seeing this, Yumi and Chie ended their conversation, Chie sitting down and Yumi walking over to Shinobu and kneeling down in front of her.

"Aw come on Shinobu, you're not going to let this ruin your whole day, now are you?" Yumi said.

Shinobu looked up at her with a very glum look on her face. "Yes actually, I think I am," she replied dejectedly.

Yumi didn't say anything but Shinobu caught what Yumi was thinking from the latter girl's facial expression.

"I feel bad about what happened. I didn't mean to humiliate him in front of half the courtyard," Shinobu said.

"Why not? Isn't that exactly what he did to you?"

Shinobu didn't reply, and after a moment, Yumi spoke again. "Look Shinobu, you can't just go grabbing a girl from behind like that and not expect them not to react. You'd have been totally justified in bopping him in the face. I meant it when I said you let him off lightly. That that fountain happened to be there was just a stroke of luck."

"That's not me, Yumi. You know that."

Yumi was fast sensing that there was little point in arguing the situation right then. The homeroom teacher was just walking in anyway, so she offered her downtrodden friend a sympathetic pat on the back before standing up and moving back to her own seat.

* * *

Shinobu made it through the day well enough, but when she returned home on this day, her obvious lack of high spirit attracted the sort of attention from her roommates that she had avoided yesterday.

"You don't look too happy, Shinobu. Is something wrong?"

Shinobu looked up to see Naru coming down the stairs as she went up them. Although Shinobu had not actually thought of the situation in this light, given the nature of what was bothering her, seeing Naru only made her feel worse.

"Umm ... no. I just didn't sleep too well last night, that's all," Shinobu rattled off quickly. She didn't slow her pace either.

Naru's face wrinkled a little, and Shinobu realized too late the hole in her excuse.

"But didn't you pass up on the nighttime hot springs so you could go to bed early? Are you sure you're OK?"

The two girls passed each other on the stairs at this point.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you later, OK?" Shinobu said, doing her best to sound like she meant it. She didn't turn to look at Naru but by the sound of Naru's slowed footsteps, Shinobu didn't think Naru was buying it. But Naru made no effort to stop her, and Shinobu made it to her room and closed the door.

* * *

Shinobu ended up unwittingly taking a short nap, falling asleep at her desk for about 45 minutes before snapping back to consciousness. She felt a little better, but her discomfort at the events of the day fast returned to the forefront of her mind. She sat still for a few minutes thinking about what her next action would be, and then with some resolve, she picked up the telephone that sat next to her desk lamp. Running her finger down the line of quick-dial buttons, stopping at the one with 'Kyo' written next to it, and with a sigh she pressed it.

Kyo had no cell phone, and several times in the past few years when she had tried to pass on some group plans to him or other such time-sensitive information she had expressed exasperation to him later than his family didn't have an answering machine. She let the phone ring about 15 times before hanging the phone up again with another sigh and a slight shake of her head.

Shinobu gave her head a more rigorous shake after a moment, and then picked up her school handbag. She still had homework to do, and there would still be hungry mouths expecting dinner later that evening.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not ours

**The Mistakes of Others**

"Do you think he's going to come today?" Shinobu asked her assembled friends at school the next morning.

The day before had passed quietly, with Shinobu going to bed extra early to account for her exasperation of the day. She had made a simple dinner, whipping it up, and chowing it down faster than all the Hinata residents could register. They could see Shinobu was close to tears, but decided not to press the issue.

Over the course of the day, Shinobu had worked herself into a mess over the issue with Kyo. She knew it wasn't that big and that all she should really have to do is apologize, but Shinobu was Shinobu and she felt incredibly bad for treating her friend as such. After she retreated to her room, she worked on the little homework that had been assigned on the second day of school.

She'd set her bag up for the next day, waiting for her near the door. Then, she attempted calling Kyo again. Again, no one answered. Shinobu briefly wondered if she had the wrong number before remembering that she'd called this number too many times before for it to be wrong. With that disappointment (was he avoiding her?), she went to sleep.

Not exactly the start she'd wanted for the school year.

When she'd awoken, she followed her usual routine (except for a minor hiccup involving Keitaro and Naru), all culminating in her arriving at the fountain at the school, and after a few minutes, questioning her friends if Kyo was indeed going to show up.

"I don't know. His parents are pretty lax compared to others when it comes to the whole attendance thing…but missing a day because of a wet uniform?" Chie said, looking at the saddened Shinobu.

"Do you want us to go find him?" Michimo asked, his worried gaze falling on Shinobu. She shook her head to a negative tune.

"Looks like we don't have to worry about finding him." The group looked up at Isao, whose eyes had landed somewhere far off towards the school building. They followed his gaze and then erupted into a litany of colorful phrases.

"I suppose, if anything," Jun said coldly, "he's the biggest flirt."

Shinobu just watched as Kyo flirted shamelessly with Ume as Toshio watched, displeased. And for some strange reason, Shinobu smiled.

* * *

At the bell, she, Yumi, and Chie headed off to their homeroom. They waited nervously (well, at least Shinobu did) for Kyo. When he did enter after Ume, Shinobu could feel the tension in the room become tangible. Though she couldn't see the faces of her two friends, she was pretty sure that if looks could kill, Kyo would be a corpse by now. It wasn't that he was flirting…it was with whom he was flirting. But Shinobu let it be, dropping her gaze and letting it drag out the window. Kaolla was, thankfully, nowhere to be seen.

The dull sound of a body hitting the chair in front of her made her look up. Her cheeks colored slightly in disappointment as Kyo kept his body forward to face Ume who had taken a seat in front of him. He was talking loudly, his voice carrying a little too clearly to Shinobu's ears. But Shinobu said nothing. She just took it as it came. Her guilt had thankfully lessened because of the support of her friend's in this issue.

Yumi and Chie, however, were red like Shinobu but out of anger. Their eyes were flitting back and forth between the flirtatious pair in front and the composed girl who was presently reaching into her school satchel to retrieve a book.

Yumi leaned over, "Doesn't this bother you at all?"

"A little. But you guys told me I was right. You weren't lying, were you?" Doubt flashed in Shinobu's eyes, only to be 'tsk-ed' away by Yumi.

"No! Of course not! But he should apologize to you!"

Chie was nodding heartily in agreement. "He did everything wrong. You did everything right. And now? Ume?!?"

Shinobu shrugged, about to answer but Kyo's next comment cut her off.

"You see, I'm the best at everything. But some people just don't appreciate me. I mean, friendship means accepting faults, even major ones. But you're not like _some_ people, right Ume?"

Shinobu's head snapped up at the comment and a tidal wave of guilt deluged her. She stared at the back of his head, asking herself if she heard correctly. Was that statement aimed at her? Was she a bad friend for not accepting Kyo as he came? But didn't she accept him? She was just trying to make him a better person because, frankly, his bragging was a horrible part of him. But…was she a bad friend? Yumi and Chie both continued to stare at her. Shinobu reacted the only way she knew how.

She ducked her head and cried. She never heard Ume's answer.

* * *

Shinobu quickly made her way to her other classes, her face now paler then before. She had gotten over the crying stage but now, a certain gloom had upended her somewhat cheerful mood and settled in her stomach. She felt as if she couldn't smile. 

So she didn't make an attempt to.

Her day moved quickly and she gave all her attention to her school-work, not even bothering to note Kyo when he waltzed into her Japanese Literature class. She would've usually watched him, waiting for him to make his way over to her with a simple smile on her lips. But not today.

Today, she focused all her energy into titling the assignment that she had to turn in.

Maybe she did this to avoid looking at him because she would cry. Or maybe she would scorn him. Or perhaps this was her way of scorning him. Really, Shinobu had no clue. She only decided to ignore him. In her mind, the different reasons were swirling in her head. She liked to think that this was all for scorning him.

But then again, she didn't know.

Kyo sat a few seats away from her, occasionally glancing at her. She gave no indication of seeing him. He started conversing with a girl, a nice one, Shinobu noted.

His voice carried…and along with it, his boasts.

Sighing, Shinobu handed her assignment in and joined her group to discuss the novel they were studying at that point, _Tsurezuregusa_. The same could be said for Kyo, who broke into his group. However, he did so with a perpetual frown and Shinobu could only look away.

She didn't like seeing her friends sad.

"The Buddhist philosophy is obviously part of the deeper theme," a classmate stated. Shinobu looked at him strangely.

"Of course it is. The author was a Buddhist monk. We just need to know which Buddhist philosophies he's pointing at," Shinobu said, a cutting edge in her voice. She was becoming bitter. And mean. Shinobu was not usually bitter and mean.

Shinobu, most of the time, was calm, demure, and simple. But sometimes, and only sometimes, when faced with circumstances that affected her to a point of fear (like losing a friend), she became bitter. And her emotions would thus cycle from bitterness to sadness and back again, until it broke. All the blame was placed on her, she would think, and rightly so. Why did she do the things she did?

What need was there to push Kyo into the fountain? Had he really done something that evil? And what about his boasting? Was it that unbearable? Was he bad person for boasting?

Was she a bad person for trying to change him?

When class was dismissed, Shinobu literally ran out. She had to go to calculus.

Thinking really is a bad thing.

* * *

Lunch was quiet. Shinobu had forgotten her lunch again. Strangely, Kaolla had reminded her in the morning to bring her lunch. Shinobu had packed it and everything. But in the last minute rush to clean up Keitaro's face after it had a meeting with Naru's fist, the lunch had been left sitting on the counter-top. As it was, a lump had settled in her throat. She found it hard to swallow past it; it hurt too much.

Shinobu didn't even bother raising her eyes when she heard Isao bring up Kyo.

"Does anybody know where Kyo is?" Isao asked, glancing in Shinobu's direction. Chie rubbed Shinobu's back and shook her head. "We don't know."

"Shinobu--" Jun started tentatively. "Shinobu, you can't let this get to you. He's not exactly the best guy in the world. Anything that you did…it was better for him. We all know that you're the one that's right. If he can't see that…"

She trailed off, watching Shinobu to gauge her reaction.

Shinobu nodded, wiping her eyes then nose. She sat up straight before slumping again and tracing circles with her finger into the bench where the group sat.

"I-I just feel like an idiot sometimes. I mean, what if he is right? What if I do judge too harshly?"

"Your only problem," Isao stated, "is that you take everything to heart. You want to be the nicest person ever, even if it means people walking all over you. And then when those ungrateful idiots question you, you feel as if you've committed a sin."

"I agree," Chie said. "You never raise your voice, get angry, or anything. You only try to help people with major, _major_ faults see what's wrong. Maybe you do it unintentionally but you do try and help. No one likes to hear Kyo brag about himself. It's annoying, stupid and a whole bunch of other things. The only problem is that he doesn't see that you're trying to help him."

The others nodded slowly. Shinobu sat, still slumped. She turned their words over in her head, as if trying to discern if they were saying it just to make her feel better. They were. But that was okay. She looked up at them and smiled an odd sort of smile since her eyes were puffy and her nose runny. They were just trying to make her feel better and that was okay.

Soon, Shinobu was smiling. She decided that even if just for the moment, she would believe her friends. Of course in reality, she didn't. But she went with it. She could deal with her never-ending feelings of guilt later.

The last class of the day was one Shinobu had not looked forward to. The uneasiness was eating away at her nerves. Yumi was going to ditch her class and join Shinobu in a show of solidarity but when the teacher gave her a "look" as she walked in, Yumi scampered away. Shinobu then shifted her focus from Yumi's retreating form to Ume. Ume sat in the far corner of the room, looking bored with life in general.

Shinobu pursued her lips and quietly took to her seat. The teacher began right away, speaking on the civic duty that young people in Japan had to their elders. Shinobu took careful notes, keeping her eyes away from Ume in the back. All the while, Shinobu would occasionally raise her fingers to her eyes for a light touch to see if her eyes were still puffy. Thankfully, the puffiness had receded some.

Anyways, the teacher continued on about civic duty up until he called for them to begin cleaning. Shinobu packed her books and miscellaneous items into her satchel then began to clean up. She helped sweep the floor and wipe the desks. Once she was finished, she left the room, hurrying to meet the group before they headed off for cram school. She met them and they said their good-byes quickly. A few of them had a train to catch and the station wasn't exactly close by.

Shinobu loitered for a few minutes, not really waiting for anything in particular. Suu was going to be attending an engineering meeting and so Shinobu could head back to Hinata. With a sigh, she headed out of the gates.

"Hey Shinobu! Wait up!" Shinobu froze, her stomach erupting into a swirl of butterflies and adrenaline. She knew her face was turning red like a cherry. Slowly, she turned to see Kyo running to catch up with her. He stopped, placing his hands on his knees as he panted from the exertion.

"A-And I tho-thought that I walked fa-fast," He managed with a smile.

Shinobu didn't know how to react. Was everything just going to go back to normal? So she just stood there, as still as a tree.

Kyo caught his breath and gave her a look. "What?" He asked. "No hello or anything?"

Shinobu once again pursued her lips. She then opened her mouth to speak, hoping that her hammering heart wouldn't let itself be known. She didn't want to have a waver in her voice. "You're not…mad?"

Kyo looked confused. Shinobu became confused. "Mad about what?"

"Yesterday! I pushed you into the fountain!" A little bit of something flashed in Kyo's eyes before an easy grin spread across his face.

"I let you push me Shinobu. No worries there. I thought you were mad at me because you ignored me all of today."

Shinobu gawked. "I didn't ignore you. You ignored _me_. And you know that I have no reason to be mad at you."

Kyo's easy grin became uneasy. "No," he said slowly. "You didn't speak to me all of today. So I figured you were mad about me walking out."

Two pink spots appeared on Shinobu's cheek. "Of course I didn't speak to you! You spent the whole day with Ume, Kyo! You know me! I don't walk up to people and initiate conversation unless I'm comfortable with all the people there!"

"I don't see why you're uncomfortable with Ume." He was trying to change the subject.

"Kyo, please. Don't change the subject." Shinobu felt tears coming up again. He continued, pretending as if he hadn't heard her.

"She's a really nice person. She's a role-model too. And--" Shinobu felt tears spill from her eyes. She looked down so as to avoid them streaking her cheek. "—she's really good at speaking publicly. I'm good too but she…Shinobu?"

Shinobu looked up at him. His face was frozen, staring at her cheeks, where the fast-moving tears were making the new trails. So much for not streaking her cheeks.

"I—uh. Yo-You're crying." He managed. He looked scared.

"Yeah. I am. I'll see you later, okay?" Shinobu kept the tremor out of her voice and then turned away, making her way to the train station. She would've continued, that is, had hands not grabbed her shoulders.

"Please don't cry!"

"What?" Shinobu looked up the harried Kyo, her tears momentarily suspended out of shock.

"I felt bad today, okay? After seeing you cry in homeroom, I felt bad for the whole rest of the day, so I thought I'd make everything better by talking with you." He paused, then continued at a slower pace. "I hate making you cry. I was mad at you, alright? You pushed me into the fountain. I don't get pushed into the fountain! I…I wanted to get back at you. Once I did though…I just…I…"

He trailed off, looking at her hopefully.

Shinobu sighed and wiped away her tears. She even managed a little smile. "I accept your apology," she said jokingly. "And I think things can be normal now."

Kyo smiled. "I'll walk you to the train station…?" Shinobu smiled a genuine one at him. "Yeah. You can walk me to the train station."

* * *

AN: So that's that for this chapter! Read and Review, please! We appreciate all feedback, constructive criticism especially!


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